Straightening attachment for hoop-forming machines



,U'E. WRIGHT I STRAIGHTENING ATTACHMENT FOR HOOP FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept; 6. 1921 w 1- INVENTQR.

wag-1.4M By A TTORNEY.

Patented May 6, 1924.

res-

JAMES E. WRIGHT, OF BAY CITY, MIGHTG-AN.

S TRAIGHTENING ATTACHMENT FOB. HOOP-FORMING MACHINES.

Application filed. September 6, 1921. Serial No. 498,813.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES E. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and into which the strips are automatically fed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a trough or guide for guiding the strips from the crimping wheel to the straightening attachment.

The above and other objects will appear as the specification progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side view of a hoop forming machine illustrating the straightening attachment in place thereon.

. Figure 2 is a front view thereof.

Figure '3 is an enlarged View of the adjustable straightening rollers, and

Figure 4 is a part sectional View taken on the line H of Figure 3 the rollers being shown full.

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional View of the guide trough.

Figure 6 is an edge view of one of the hoops after it has been fed around the crimping wheel.

Figure 7 is also a similar edge view of one of the hoops after it has been fed through the straightening rollers.

The hoop forming machine is primarily designed to form hoops from dry stock or timber which has not been treated. Heretofore this timber has been a particular specie which must be first boiled and prepared before bending. My improved ma chine prepares and forms hoops from any material, either dry or green, the crimping wheel puckering and crimping the inner surface of the strip so that it will readily bend without breakage or 'splintering. Naturally after a strip has been fed through the machine it will be bent and curved due to the crimping or puckering of'the fibres on the inner surface, and the feeding around the comparatively small diameter of the crimping wheel.

After the strips have been formed they must then be coiled into suitable coils for shipment or storage as the case. may be, and it will be obvious. that were the hoops or strips taken directly from the crimping wheel and coiled, they would be very difficult to handle, due to the curve and the intertwining of the strips with each other as they are discharged from the machine, and the coilers would be unable to handle I and coil a sufiicient number of hoops. I have therefore found it essential and necessary to reversely bend and straighten these strips in order that they may be straight when they are taken from the machine and made into bundles or piles which can be conveniently handled, and in which condition they can be readily coiled.

Referring now particularly to the drawing in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the machine comprises a pair offrame members 5, spaced apart and suitably secured together by means of a rod 6 extending through'pipe separators 7. A crimping wheel 8 is mounted on a transversely disposed shaft 9 which is journaled in suitable boxes secured to the frame. A spur gear 10 is mounted on this shaft 9 and is adapted to mesh with a gear 11 mount ed on a similarly disposed shaft 12, a drive pulley 13 being carried on the outer end thereof and is adapted to be connected to any suitable source of power.

A pressure roller 14: is revolubly mounted in a frame carried in the head 15 and is vertically adjustable, so'that any desired pressure may be obtained on the roller. A flexible band 16 partially surrounds this crimping wheel one end being anchored to the' frame, the free end being connected to a tensioning device for creating a tension and provide for the material passing through the machine, this machine as described comprising the subject matter of Letters Patent #l,426,028 for hoop forming machines granted to me under date of August 15th, 1922.

The strips 17 are formed with a beveled edge to conform to the bilge of the barrels,

and are adapted to be fed into the feed hopper of the machine by the operator, passing in under the pressure roller and around the crimping wheel, the tension roller forcing the teeth of the crimping roller into the material and the flexible belt guiding it around, the end feeding into a guide trough 19 secured to one leg of the machine by means of the bolts 20, this guide is formed in two parts which are bolted together as shown at 21-, being curved up and over the crimping wheel, the top end being secured to the side of the head 15 by means of the strap 22. A bracket 23 is secured to the opposite side or back of the frame and is formed with a pair of boxes 24 and 25 in which the shafts 26 and 27 are respectively journaled, rollers 28 and 29 are mounted on the outer ends thereof, the top roller having a tapered face to conform to the beveled surface of the hoop, the face of the roller 29 isl straight, and while it is shown as flanged, this is not necessary. A similar roller 30 is mounted on a short jack shaft 31 which is provided with an enlarged portion 32 intermediate its length, this shaft extends through a flat plate member 33 and into a slotted opening 3% formed in the bracket member 23, the end of the shaft being threaded to receive a nutcmember 35, a washer 36 being interposed between the bracket and the said nut and it will be apparent that by tightening the said nut, the plate 33 will be tightly clamped between the enlarged portion 32 and the web of the bracket.

The bracket 23 is formed with a laterally extending lower portion 23, and an adjusting bolt 37 is threaded into a suitable opening formed therein, the end of the bolt butting against the bottom edge of the bracket, and it will be obvious that by loosening the nut member '36 and'manipulating the bolt 37, that the roller 30 can be adjusted vertically as desired.

The rollers 28 and. 29 are driven rollers, and are geared together by means of a pair of gears 38 and 39, motion being imparted thereto by means of a pulley 40 mounted on the shaft 26 and connected to a pulley 41 mounted on the driven shaft 9 by means of a belt 42.

In operation the strips are fed into the machine as clearly shown in Figure 1, traveling around the crimping wheel (as indicated by the arrows) which bends them to shape as shown in Figure 6, they then enter the guide trough leading to the straightening rollers which reversely bend them, so that when they are discharged onto a suitable table each strip will again be straight and can be readily coiled by the coilers,

while I have shown the straightening attachment as comprising a series of rollers, it will be readily understood that any correctly formed irregular passage will accomplish the same result, but I prefer to make it revoluble to eliminate friction, it will also be found good practice to drive the straightening rollers slightly faster than the crimping wheel so that a pull will be exerted on the strips and they will discharge from the machine with considerable force and can be directed as desired.

What I claim is 1. The combination with a hoop forming machine provided with a crimping wheel, of a straightening attachment comprising a pair of flanged rollers co-operating with a beveled faced roller, and a V-shaped inverted trough for guiding the material to the said rollers.

2. The combination with a hoop forming machine having a driven crimping wheel, of a straightening attachment comprising a pair of flanged rollers one of which is driven and co-operating with a beveled faced driven roller, and a V-s'haped I inverted trough leading from the crimping wheel to said rollers for guiding the material thereto In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

JAMES E. WRIGHT. 

